Reviews

Summoner 2

Summoner 2 drops you headlong into a tale filled with the classic elements of epic fantasy: betrayal, worship, friendship, otherworldly powers, and the classic hero quest. There's a huge amount to take in, so it may take some time before you can truly wrap your head around the game's mythology, the diverse cast of characters, and their motivations. You can study up in the game's thorough quest log and journal, but you'll likely have more fun tackling all of the side quests that Summoner 2 has to offer.

In addition to being able to compete in a gladiatorial arena, you can raise a monster for battling, gamble on a variety of games, and even make all of the decisions that are part of ruling over a kingdom in peril. Each decision you make in the game has a consequence, and it's great fun to see how your choices pan out -- you may make plenty of money for your coffers, or you may get ripped off with a clever two man scam.

Each major scene in the game is brought to life through cinematic sequences.

Summoner 2 has visually improved by leaps and bounds upon what was available in the original, although it doesn't feature the expansive open-terrain environments that hallmarked its predecessor. The character models are nicely rendered, and feature life-like facial animations and plenty of emphatic gesticulation. The game's art style is all its own -- inspiration comes from seemingly all corners, and when you take in the open air market of Munari City or the palatial presence of Halassar's capital, you can appreciate the great attention that was paid to detail.

Taking a cue from the Soul Reaver series, many of Summoner 2's attractively detailed environments are separated by bland corridors and hallways, no doubt in order to surreptitiously load the upcoming areas. Even so, the relative lack of load times in the game is impressive, and any cinematic sequences that appear can be skipped painlessly. Even conversations can be cut short, allowing you to cut straight to the chase -- other RPG developers should take note.

Sadly, the vibrant graphics are marred by the frequent appearance of glitches and bugs that should have been caught in the testing process. Some of these instances are merely annoying, such as the appearance of the characters in their weapon wielding poses while in cities (oddly empty-handed to boot). Other times, most often when changing the active members of your party, you'll find that one character has weapons in hand and can attack in the city, although with no effect on townsfolk. In the most extreme of cases, you may be walking up stairs in a building, to find yourself walking straight through the roof, over the game's geometry, ending up strolling in empty air with no way to return and a befuddled expression on your face.

Artistic effects and production values give Summoner 2 a unique look.

Similarly lackluster is Summoner 2's sound production. Many of the sound effects in the game are bland or muted, and many times a spell will fire off or an attack will be made with seemingly no audio output associated. Monster attacks can be hard on the ears at times, and the din of a hard fought battle may compel you to turn down the volume on your television. Luckily, the soundtrack isn't half bad, and the voice actors that portray the game's colorful cast perform admirably, spitting out lines of cheesy fantasy dialogue with aplomb and grace. As an added bonus, the cast put together another comic video featuring the characters of Summoner 2 in a candid interview piece.

Most of the console RPGs that draw attention from the gaming world hail from Japan; aside from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, you have few options if you want to play an RPG without a spiky-haired protagonist. Summoner 2 is a refreshing, decidedly western RPG that could have been incredible with just a few minor changes. Nonetheless, Summoner 2 is lots of fun.